


Turning Page

by yungpliny



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Adpotion, Andriel adopt, But also angst because parenthood is hard, Cameos by all the foxes !!, Kid Fic, M/M, Post-Canon, They deserve all the happiness okay, This is me using Andrew and Neil having a happy life as a stress reliever, there will be lots of fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:54:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26416777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yungpliny/pseuds/yungpliny
Summary: Andrew and Neil beat the odds. They survived the Moriyamas, the Wesninskis, college exy, and being out in the professional sports world. They fell in love, they got married, and now they're ready to grow their family–no, not with more cats, they're ready for a son this time. But they get a little bit more than they bargained for.And neither of them would change a thing.
Relationships: Abby Winfield/David Wymack, Katelyn/Aaron Minyard, Kevin Day/Thea Muldani, Matt Boyd/Danielle "Dan" Wilds, Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 22
Kudos: 99





	1. Can't Have One Without the Other

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, this is my first AFTG fic! This was born completely out of procrastination and the need for some stress relieving writing. Also this portrayal of the foster system is likely horrendously inaccurate but please don't come for me. There will be some brief mentions of Neil and Andrew's respective childhoods, but I won't be going to in depth into anything. This is set in their early thirties, and they're generally happy and healthy and ready for some kiddos! Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it :)

“What if this is a mistake?” 

Neil Josten nearly whispers after five minutes of heavy silence. They had both been staring at the imposing gray building, the one that held a small little future within one of its many rooms. That is, if they decided to go through with it. 

“Tell me now if you don’t want to do this. Once we have Patrick, we’re not giving him back. We can’t do that to him.”

“You know it’s not that, Drew. I don’t...I...I had a shit father–”

“I had no father.”

“What if we fuck up his life?”

Andrew wraps his hand around the back of Neil’s neck, a habit he hasn’t broken since college, and turns his head so they’re facing each other.

“Neil, the man I hate so much that I tied myself to him for life, we’re starting a family today and we may not be perfect but we’re going to try our fucking best to raise our son right. To be the fathers we needed. Yes or no?”

Neil searches his husband’s eyes before scooting himself closer. “Yes, Drew, and now I’m going to kiss you to seal the deal.” He waits a moment, just in case Andrew protests, before gently pressing their lips together. “Love you, Drew,” he breathes out a moment later. 

“I would not have this life with anyone else, junkie,” Andrew breathes back. “All in?” He puts his hand out.

“All in,” Neil laces their fingers together. “Let’s bring home our son.”

They get out of the car after another moment, soaking in their last alone time as a family of two(humans that is–one would be remiss to forget King and Sir). Once they are checked in with security, they walk the familiar path to their caseworker’s office. She greets them with a smile at their knock on her open door.

“Neil, Andrew, please come in,” Simona says with a smile. “I have the paperwork for Patrick finalized right here,” she gestures to two clipboards laid on the desk in front of her. “I just want to go over a few last minute things and then you guys can sign while I grab Patrick.”

“Sounds great,” Neil beams, first at Andrew, then at Simona.

“Perfect. Well, as we went over before, he’s a sensitive case in regards to his parents, though he thankfully wasn’t present on the night his father killed his mother.” Simona had called only two hours after her official meeting with Neil and Andrew, wondering if they were willing to take on a young boy with a similar background to Neil. Neither of them had hesitated to say yes–the cold feet in the car notwithstanding. “He has occasional nightmares and has wet the bed a few times, but not consistent enough for it to really be labeled as a recurring problem. It will be up to you guys if you want to put him in night time diapers, but he’s not a big fan.” Both nod along, ready to help him through any tough nights. “He’s a bit quieter than other children his age, but that is to expected given the circumstances, and he’s also a bit smaller than we would like, but a consistent living environment and healthy diet should fix that in no time. Other than that, I think he’ll adjust well to you guys based on your previous meetings with him. His medical history and other legal paperwork is in this file, which I’ll give you on your way out. Any other questions?”

“No, we’re ready, Simona, thank you,” Andrew says, giving Neil’s hand a quick squeeze.

“Wonderful! Just sign where indicated whenever you’re ready and I’m going to get Patrick for you. And just a warning, he doesn’t have much. A backpack, a few changes of clothes, and a toy, if I remember correctly.”

“That’s no problem. We have stuff ready for him at home and we can grab anything else we need in the next few days,” Neil reassures her.

“Alrighty then. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

They look at each other as soon as they have the office to themselves.

“God, Drew, we’re about to be dads. Who would’ve thought?”

“Well, I can safely say there were no Fox bets on whether we would be married with kids in the future.”

Neil lets out a bright laugh before picking up the pen. “Man, I should’ve bet on that. We would’ve made so much money.”

“Ah, ah you’re forgetting. You can’t bet on yourself, junkie.” Neil just shrugs before looking at the papers.

“All right, let’s sign this and then take our boy home.”

They share another quick kiss before signing their names three times each and then Patrick is legally theirs. Simona comes in a minute or two later, looking a bit frazzled with a softly crying Patrick in tow.

_Uh-oh._

“Sorry, it’s been a hard day for him, leaving his–oh, perfect, everything is signed?”

She takes the clipboards to read everything over one last time, leaving Patrick hovering at the doorway. Neil and Andrew look at each other before approaching their new son. 

“Hi, Patrick, do you remember us?” Andrew kneels down, resisting the urge to wipe at his teary eyes. He won’t touch his face, not until he knows Patrick’s boundaries. The boy nods slowly.

“Drew and Neil,” he whispers after a moment. “You like chocolate ice cream with rainbow sprinkles like me.”

“Yes, that’s right,” his heart clenches just a tad–not that anyone ever has to know. “Well Neil and I were wondering if you would like to come live with us?” He feels Neil come down next to him and takes his hand as Patrick’s lower lip trembles and more tears begin to fall. This doesn’t seem like a great sign.

“It’s not you guys,” Simona sighs. “He was so excited after meeting you. He doesn’t want to leave Clare.”

“Clare?” Neil asks sharply.

“Yes, his sister.”

Neil and Andrew look at each other, with clenched jaws and wide eyes. Patrick makes a small whimper and clutches at the bottom of his shirt. “Can Clare come too?” He asks with big teary green eyes that remind Andrew too much of another boy that looked at him the same way over a decade ago. Two pairs of green eyes with hope that Andrew can save them, yet ready to be crushed by the world at any moment. 

“ _Drew...we can’t let...his sister_ ,” Neil garbles out in German, not knowing what to say.

“ _Neil, neither of us would know what to do with a little girl._ ”

“ _But we can’t just take him. You said you were all in and I agreed. If I have to deal with the fear of becoming my father, you have to realize that not all women will turn out to be our mothers_.”

Andrew gives him a blank look before facing Simona. “Why weren’t we told about his sister? Don’t you try to keep siblings together?”

“Yes,” she says slowly. “But they were separated pretty early on. His oldest sister, Maeve, was taken on pretty quickly, and Clare a few weeks later. However, she was having...difficulties being separated from her siblings so she was brought back a few weeks ago. I was hoping that seeing Patrick being taken to a good home would make her more willing to stay somewhere.”

Andrew’s fist clenched against his knee. Two sisters then. _Daughter, daughter, daughter._ He never imagined himself with a daughter. He can’t raise a little girl, can he? 

“Is she here now? Can we meet her?”

“I, s-sure. Let me just...Are you sure? I suppose she'll want to come to say goodbye anyway. I’ll be a minute,” Simona is suddenly flustered as she quickly leaves the room.

“Clare is coming?” Patrick murmurs, looking between Drew and Neil, almost asking for permission to be happy.

“Yeah, buddy. I’m sure she’ll be here in just a minute with Simona.” Neil answers while Andrew remains quiet, trying to calm himself down.

 _Tilda, Cass, Tilda, Cass,_ every female who has ever disappointed him flashes through his mind. _Renee, Bee, Abby,_ he closes his eyes. Not everyone woman is like his mothers. _Andrew Minyard-Josten, father to a little girl._

Patrick slowly nods and takes a step closer to them before moving back again quickly, unsure of where he stands. Neil looks at Andrew and nods before putting a hand out to their son. Patrick stares for a moment, looking at both of them again before placing his little hand in Neil’s. 

“Is Maeve coming too?”

Neil sends a quick panicked look to Andrew, but realizes he might be on his own for a bit while Andrew comes to terms with coming home with not one child, but two. Neil decides that he’ll panic later tonight once his family is safe at home. 

“She’s with another family right now. But I bet Simona will tell us how we can talk to her and maybe we can have a visit.” He had no idea how true that is, but he has other ways to reach Maeve if need be. 

“She went away a long time ago. I really miss her,” he sighs sadly in a way a three-year-old should not. Andrew suddenly puts his own hand out and Patrick takes it, smiling slightly at the little circle the three of them now make. He’s just about to reassure him that he’ll see his sister again when the door opens and Simona walks in with a little girl that is angry and sad all at once. A sentiment that Andrew and Neil are both very familiar with. 

“Pat,” she rushes out, quickly grabbing onto her brother, tugging him away from Neil and Andrew with a defiant look, daring them to say anything. “Stay away from him.”

“Clare,” Simona quickly admonishes, but she doesn’t look repentant at all.

“You can’t make me leave him again. I promised to keep him safe,” she growls towards Simona and Andrew can’t hide his sharp intake of breath from Neil. He suddenly swears to himself that he will not let another pair of siblings be torn apart by a promise.

“Clare,” he says, trying not to quirk his lips at her little glare. “We don’t want to take Patrick away from you. We were wondering if both of you would like to come home with us.”

She obviously wasn’t expecting that, as she rocks back on her heels, looking up at Neil and Andrew with wide, weary eyes. 

“For real?” She says quietly.

“Yes, Neil and Drew are nice,” Patrick reassures his sister. “And they said we can visit with Maeve.”

Neil cringes as he turns to Simona, but the caseworker only smiles at him. “I’ll see what I can do,” she nods and he feels a weight lifted off his chest. At least he won’t have to break the first promise he made to his son. And his daughter. He's not leaving here without her now. He has kids plural. _Wow._

Clare still looks a bit angry, but certainly not as hostile as when she first came into the room, thinking she would have to say goodbye to Patrick for who knows how long.

“Clare, Patrick, I’m going to talk to Neil and Andrew outside for a little bit. Will you be okay coloring or playing for a few minutes?” Simona asks, nodding towards a little table with crayons and legos. Neither of the kids answered but they made their way over to the little play corner as Neil and Andrew shuffled outside. “Now, are you sure that you guys want to take on Clare? I’m sure that we could find her a good home–”

“We’re sure,” Andrew cuts her off, and Neil quickly squeezes his hand in agreement. He may not be completely prepared for a daughter but he will not allow himself to be the reason a family is torn further apart.

“Clare is sweet at heart, but was a bit difficult at her last home. I think it’s because she missed Patrick–she’s been fine here with him–but I still think it’s important for you to know. She refused to go to sleep most nights, would get into fights with other kids, and tried to sneak away multiple times. If you don’t think you can handle–”

“Simona,” Andrew cuts in again, “You know my background. I’m sure there will be an adjustment period for both of them but Neil and I are prepared to work through whatever they need.”

“Very well, I’ll get the paperwork started for both of the Flynn children then. Why don’t you two get to know Clare a little better while I get everything settled.”

“Perfect, thank you,” Neil says as Andrew nods at her and then they open the door. Both apprehensive but ready to start a life with Patrick and Clare. Their son _and_ daughter. Two cats have in no way prepared them for two children. 


	2. Refrigerator Pictures and Yellow Dresses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finished this early so y'all get a late Sunday night treat:)

Clare turns to them as soon as the door opens, but Patrick stays focused on the picture he’s coloring.

“I’m sorry I was mean before. I thought you were gonna take Patrick away from me again.”

“That’s alright, Clare, I understand. I have a brother and I made a promise to protect him too,” Andrew says, making his way over to their table and pulling out a little chair to fit on. “You also get to decide if you want to stay here or come home with us. But I will tell you this since I know you’re a big girl–ah, how old are you?”

“Five. I am a big girl,” she nods at him. 

“Yes, I thought so. You can choose to stay here but you and Patrick will probably be split up again. If you come with us, you can stay together for as long as you want to live with us.” She keeps her steady green gaze on him, pursing her lips in thought–a very grown-up move for a very little girl.

“You won’t hurt us in secret, will you?” She finally asks and Andrew’s eyebrows raise up. He refrains from telling her that even if he said yes, there was no guarantee that he would keep his word. That she was still naive enough to ask hopefully meant that it was not something she experienced.

“Drew and I would never harm you or Patrick,” Neil says, also drawing up a micro-chair. “Has that happened to you before?”

“No, but...I heard it from Charlie.”

Both Andrew and Neil let out a sigh of relief, briefly meeting eyes before focusing on the kids again. 

“Neil’s right. We would never hurt you.”

“Told you, Clare,” Patrick chimes in. “Neil and Drew are nice.”

“Jerry and Linda said that I was trouble and no one would want me if I didn’t change my act-a-tude,” Clare challenges. “What if you give me back?”

“Do you know what an attitude,” Andrew gently emphasizes the correct pronunciation of the word( _ wow he’s adjusting to this dad thing already _ ), “is?” 

She squints at him a moment before shrugging. “Not really.” He finds himself suppressing a smirk. 

“I don’t think you’re trouble, Clare. I think you caused trouble because you wanted to get back to Patrick, right?”

She looks at him surprised, as if he couldn’t have possibly known what she was thinking. “I promised Maeve that I would protect him and then they took me away.”

“Well since you have Patrick, I don’t think you’re going to cause trouble, but even if you do, we will not give you up unless you want to go. No child is good all of the time, and we should know,” Andrew laughs, glancing at his husband fondly. “Neil and I were sometimes bad children.”

Patrick gets up then and looks at Neil, pointing at his lap. Neil, just a bit startled, lifts the boy onto his lap with a warm smile. 

“Look, I drawed you, Drew, Maeve, Clare, and me. And that’s the sun because we’re outside at the park. And there’s a red slide. And a flower,” Patrick points to each element of his picture as he shows Neil, who’s slightly in awe.

“That’s amazing, buddy. Why don’t you show Drew?”

He twists his little body towards Andrew and Clare, going through the same motions of pointing at the all elements of his artwork. Neil thinks that it should probably go on the fridge–Dan and Matt’s is covered in a plethora of finger paintings. He doesn’t think he ever had any pictures on his fridge–not that his father would ever allow something like that displayed in his home. Had he ever even drawn a picture? He must’ve at least in his early years of school. No matter, Patrick’s drawing of their new family will be properly honored. He’ll have to remember to pick up some magnets next time they’re out shopping. 

“We’ll have to hang that on the fridge, huh, Drew?” 

“Of course, this is a work of art,” he says seriously, making Patrick giggle, but there is a slight look of panic in his eyes that Neil acknowledges with a slight nod.  _ They have kids that draw pictures for them? What a dream. _

“If I draw a picture, can you put it on the fridge, too?” Clare asks, seemingly over her initial dislike of Andrew and Neil. Though he’s sure they haven’t earned her complete trust yet–not that they should have within an hour of meeting her. 

“Of course, we have a very large fridge that is very empty of any decoration at the moment,” he assures her

Clare looks pleased and immediately starts a drawing of what looks like a pink...tumbleweed perhaps, but she seems content so her new fathers are too. They make small talk while waiting for Simona to come back, asking about favorite colors, foods, and toys while also making sure to note any dislikes. By the time Simona makes it back to them, Clare has scooted closer to Andrew, letting him know that the pink tumbleweed is in fact a castle and  _ do you and Neil live in a castle? _ He regretfully informs her that they do not, but says that maybe they can visit one someday. She tries to shrug it off, but her eyes take on a momentary sparkle that makes Andrew want to jet her off to Europe immediately. Or maybe Disney World. Perhaps she would enjoy that a bit more. He’ll have to ask around to figure out if that would be an appropriate Christmas or birthday gift.  _ Christmas, birthdays. _ God, he has kids to give gifts to for Christmas and birthdays. He has to look in their files for birthdays. 

“Neil, Andrew, if I could borrow you for just a moment over here?” Simona asks, smiling at the sight of the two children seeming comfortable with their guardians already. They follow her over to her desk after Neil gently deposits Patrick on the chair next to his sister. “Okay, Patrick’s paperwork is all set, you just need to sign along all the same lines in this packet for Clare. Normally, we would have to do a second walkthrough of your home to make sure it is fit for two children before all this, but a special exception can be made in this case since you’re taking on siblings. However, we do have to come by within the next week or so for an unannounced visit anyway so we can just take care of that all at once.”

“Sounds good, Andrew and I are not in season at the moment and we’ve taken a few weeks off of training to be there full time for Patrick’s–and now Clare’s–adjustment.”

Simona makes an approving noise before continuing. “Wonderful. Now, you’re foster parents to both of them, and when we last spoke you wanted to start the adoption process right away for Patrick,” she says carefully and a bit quietly, mindful of the ears in the room. Neil and Andrew had fallen in love with Patrick right away and knew that being a temporary home would never work for them, but Clare...They look at each other.  _ Can they commit to raising a daughter forever? _ But how could they not after sitting with her for just twenty minutes? Trying their best to raise her with her brother has to be better than splitting them up, right? Neil and Andrew look at each other and nod.  _ All in.  _

“Clare, too,” Andrew says. “We would love to have both of them as permanent members of the family.” He hears a little gasp from the corner of the room, but Clare is very much focused on drawing her picture when he looks back.

“You’re sure? You can take a few days to think it over? Not even two hours ago, you came here just for Patrick.”

“We’re completely sure,” Andew affirms. “I don’t make promises I can’t keep.”

Neil squeezes his hand and just like that, they’re signing papers to become Clare’s guardians while Simona notes that the adoption process should start for both children as soon as possible. Files with important paperwork for the siblings are handed over, then they’re shaking hands and calling the kids over. Simona hands Clare a little pink backpack with her belongings and they’re being walked out the door, Neil holding Patrick’s hand, who’s holding Clare’s hand. 

“Simona,” Andrew murmurs quietly, letting the kids and Neil get a bit ahead of them. “If anything comes up and Maeve needs another home–”

“You’ll be my first call with any news about her,” Simona promises before sticking her hand out for him to shake. “Of course I want all my kids to be happy in their first homes, but if there’s a way to get siblings under the same roof, I’ll try my best to make it happen. So I’ll definitely keep you in the loop regarding Maeve. Thank you, Andrew, you and Neil are going to make those kids so happy and safe.”

“We intend to,” he responds solemnly, taking her hand. “We’ll speak to you soon.”

“Yes, and don’t hesitate to call if you need anything in the meantime.”

Andrew gives her a nod and a small smile before catching up with his family. 

“Everything alright?” Neil asks, tangling the fingers of his free hand with Andrew’s.

“Yes,” his husband answers. “Everything is perfect.”

“Neil, Drew, are we going to your home now?” Clare asks when they get to the car. 

“Yes–oh shi-shoot, Drew. We only have one car seat. And one room set up. And clothes for a three year old. And, holy fu-funnelcake, Clare needs to be enrolled in school,” Neil huffs out in panic, and while all his worries are valid, Andrew’s now realizing how hard it’s going to be to remove “adult” words from their vocabulary in front of the kids. He looks across the street and sees a park.  _ Bingo. _ Being pushed on the swings by an early foster mother is one of his only decent childhood memories.

“ _ Bring them to the park while I grab an extra car seat from Target. I’ll also grab some necessities for Clare for the next few days _ ,” he tells Neil in German. 

_ “Do you know what to get for her–I’m not asking because I don’t trust you but because I have no idea how to shop for a little girl.” _

_ “How different could it be than shopping for Patrick?” _

Neil looks at him doubtfully while Clare looks at them suspiciously. “Why are you speaking a different language?” she demands, clutching Patrick closer to her. Neil and Andrew look down at her surprised.

“We’re just planning on what to do because we only have one car seat right now. Do you know what language we were speaking?” he asks, curious about her reaction.

“No, but...sometimes my daddy spoke another language.” She doesn’t elaborate but she doesn’t have to for them to understand. Neil’s hand hovers over her shoulder, wanting to comfort her, but also not wanting to push her after just sharing something so personal. 

“Neil and I were not discussing anything bad. We speak a few different languages so sometimes we use them without thinking. Would it make you feel better if we only spoke English around you?”

“You don’t have to do that,” she says, turning away to look at the car instead of them.

“But would it make you more comfortable, Clare?” She’s still for a long time but eventually gives them a small nod.

“Okay, then we’ll do that. And one day if you want, we can teach you German or Russian so you can understand us if we ever do slip into it by accident.” She looks at him, seemingly interested, but doesn’t say anything. Neil and Andrew understand that too. I _ f you don’t want something, it can’t be taken away from you, right? _ It took Andrew many years of therapy to break that mindset. 

“So Andrew is going to the store to pick up a car seat and some other things you’ll need. Do you want to go with him to pick things out or stay with me and Patrick?” Both Andrew and Clare flick startled looks at Neil. That was not his plan. 

“I don’t need anything,” she says, tightening her hand on Patrick’s, who has been quiet during the whole exchange. Shit, he’ll probably need a nap soon. Three year olds nap, right?

“You’re going to need some clothes, honey, and a toothbrush, some stuff for when you shower. Oh maybe a bathing suit? We have a pool, so we can teach you to swim if you want,” Neil offers.

“I have some clothes that I can wash. I, um, I can wash Patrick’s clothes too if you want. And yours. Mimi showed me how.”

“How to use the washing machine?” Andrew asks, trying to mask his outrage at the thought of his little five-year old operating laundry machines. Could she even see anything happening? Laundry detergents surely weren’t safe for five-year-olds, right?

“Yes, it’s how I earned my keep. Mimi cleaned the house and Charlie made dinner when Jerry and Linda came home to unlock the kitchen.”

“Unlock the kitchen,” Neil mutters, looking angry.

“Can’t steal food because it’s expensive,” Clare shrugs. 

“Clare, can you look at me for a second,” Andrew asks softly, giving her what he hopes is a reassuring smile that is not betraying his anger. “You’ll never have to earn your place in our house. We want you and Patrick to be happy and healthy, that is all. Maybe when you’re older–a lot older–you can help out around the house so you can learn how to take care of your own house one day or to add to your allowance.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s...well, when you’re older and have a car, you might want to spend time with your friends and go shopping or out to eat and you’ll need money for that. That’s an allowance. But for now, Neil and I will get you everything you need because it’s our job to take care of you.”

“Okay,” she answers slowly, obviously not trusting that living with them will be so easy, but they’ll get there. Neil and Andrew may not have expected to come home with a daughter but they wouldn’t give her back for anything now. 

“Drew, how about you get the car seat and then come back to get us. If Patrick falls asleep, one of us can stay with him in the car while the other and Clare pick out some stuff together. Does that sound good for everyone?”

Andrew hums, accepting that plan, but Clare is still frowning. “I really don’t need anything,” she insists, making Neil ache for her and remember a time when he couldn’t understand why people kept showing him kindness he felt he didn’t deserve. 

“Well, I’m sure you’re right that you don’t  _ need _ anything, honey, but Drew and I  _ want  _ to get you things.”

“We go to the park now?” Patrick tugs at Neil’s hand, clearly getting antsy. “I want to go on the slide and swings.”

“Yes, Neil, I’ll text you when I’m on my way back. I won’t be long.” Andrew unlocks the car, making his way to the driver’s side. “Have fun, guys,” he says to Clare and Patrick, pausing when he passes them. He offers his hand to Patrick, who let’s go of Clare’s to give him a squeeze. He offers the same to Clare who gently places her hand in his. “I’ll see you guys soon.” After a quick peck with Neil, he’s free to get in the car and try not panic at this unexpected (unexpectedly good at least) life change. 

By the time Andrew returns to the park, Neil is on a bench holding a sleeping Patrick while watching Clare try to make it all the way across the monkey bars. The trip took him longer than he expected–who knew there were so many different car seat options–but he decided on one that would supposedly work for her until she was eight.  _ Planning for the future.  _

“Everything go okay?” He asks Neil quietly, mindful of the napping little boy.

“Yeah, they both played around for a bit, but Patrick tired out and asked for my lap again. I never thought numb arms would be part of fatherhood, but here we are,” he laughs softly, shifting the boy around a bit. 

“Why don’t you give him to me to take to the car and you can meet me there with Clare?”

“Sure,” he agrees, carefully transferring Patrick to Andrew’s arms. He wakes for a second, startled, but settles down again when he recognizes Andrew and puts his head on his shoulder. Andrew lets out a happy sigh without realizing it and Neil flicks a knowing look at him. “It’s strange isn’t it? To feel so honored to be napped on.” 

He gives Neil a hip bump in response and walks his sleeping son to the car. He successfully maneuvers him into the car seat without waking him and lets out a laugh when he looks back at the park. Neil seems to be racing Clare, who is winning, on the monkey bars, his legs lifted up so they don’t touch the ground. He watches Clare jump down and give a high five to Neil before the two make their way over to the car. 

Clare buckles herself in, under Andrew’s supervision, and then they’re off to Target. Thankfully, the traffic in Columbia is pretty light in the mid-afternoon, so they get there pretty quickly. 

“Do you want me or Andrew to go in with you?” Neil asks Clare as Andrew pulls into a parking space near the front. 

“I don’t know.”

“Drew, why don’t you bring her. Your fashion sense is a bit better than mine, hmm?” He laughs, remembering the bags of clothes he was given before his early trips to Eden’s. Andrew just rolls his eyes before getting out of the car and opening Clare’s door for her. Neil watches Andrew hold out his hand to Clare and look both ways multiple times, for once in his life, while they walk through the parking lot. He looks at sleeping Patrick once they make it into the store and can’t help how full his heart seems to be.

He never thought he would be here, looking at his sleeping son while his husband is shopping with his daughter. He didn’t even think he’d make it past nineteen at a certain point. He wonders sometimes if his mother would be proud of him for having this life. He knew she would be horrified at his choices after Millport, and frequently imagined her coming back from beyond the grave just to beat some sense into him his whole freshman year, but would she be happy for him now? Seeing how he built a life for himself full of love and joy. He likes to hope so. He’ll never forget her harsh treatment of him but she had to love him at the end of the day. Afterall, she could have just let Moriyama’s take him from the beginning. 

Patrick mumbles in his sleep, distracting Neil from his thoughts.  _ His son, his son, his son.  _ He’ll stay here in the present with his son. It’s time to let the ghosts haunting him rest. 

Andrew is wondering if perhaps he should have just picked things out for Clare on his own. He sees her looking longingly at a unicorn blanket, but insists that she can use whatever he has at home(he puts it in the cart anyway). She says that she already has a toothbrush, showing him a ratty white one with the bristles almost worn down that she pulls out of her backpack. She reluctantly accepts him picking out a pack of ones with puppies printed on it after explaining that Patrick can use them too. By the time they make it to clothes and shoes, she gets a bit better. She’ll say no if you ask her outright if she wants something, so he adapted to make her choose between options instead.  _ Parenthood is all about the compromise so far.  _

They pass through the aisles a few times and Clare’s eyes keep flicking to a little yellow dress printed with sunflowers,  _ her favorite color _ he remembers, so he waits to see if she’ll say something. Of course, she doesn’t, so he grabs it in her size but she lets out gasp.

“I saw you looking at it. Do you not want it?” He asks curiously. “You don’t have any dresses yet.”

“It’s pretty, but...” he nods to encourage her to go on. “Linda said that yellow is not practical for clothes or shoes.” He really needs to resist the urge to track down Linda and have a little...talk. He crouches down to Clare’s level and holds his hand out to her again, smiling gently when she takes it. 

“You should always wear the clothes you want to, Clare. How you decorate your body is up to you. Now should you be practical sometimes? Of course. You should wear a jacket in the winter to stay warm or a helmet when you ride a bike to protect your head. But you should wear whatever colors or prints or clothing pieces you want.”

“You promise it’s okay?” She looks at him holding the yellow dress, so hopeful that he wants to punch every person that has hurt Clare in her short life.

“I promise. Do you know what Neil’s favorite color is?” She shakes her head. “It’s orange. Very bright orange. And he wears that color so much. I’m sure as soon as we get home he’ll put on his favorite orange sweatshirt with the paw-prints all over it. Your yellow dress would look great next to that,” tamping down the small part of him yelling about clashing colors. He’s had years to be desensitized to Neil’s love of Palmetto Foxes orange and his atrocious sense of fashion. 

“Like the sun,” Clare nods and she takes the dress from his hands and puts it in the cart. “Can I get some more yellow things?”

“Of course, Clare. Anything you want.”

And he means it, too. 


	3. Two cats and a Rapunzel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, another update! I think I'm going to aim for Fridays:) This story does have some plot, but it's mostly Andrew and Neil being domestic tbh and I have no idea how long it will be. Also I shamelessly used google translate for all the German in this story, so apologies if it's terrible. Enjoy!!

The past week and a half has been a learning curve for all four members of the Minyard-Josten household, but thankfully no major problems occurred. As expected, Clare had to be reminded multiple times that she didn’t have to do laundry or the dishes or clean the house. They settled on telling her that it would help them if she kept her room tidy, and so far it’s been immaculate, despite the new addition of a doll castle and some other toys they had gotten her. Neil hopes that she’ll eventually feel comfortable enough to leave at least a little bit of clutter lying around. 

Right now, she’s helping Neil pick out a movie for tonight while Andrew reads to Patrick on the couch. They quickly learned that Patrick loves books, especially about dinosaurs and cars, and Neil may have gone overboard with a Barnes and Noble order. They probably won’t run out of new books to read for weeks. They also let Patrick and Clare take turns picking movies a few nights a week. They try to limit their time on screens by getting them toys and bringing them to play outside, but neither of them want to be particularly restrictive about technology like some parents they’ve seen. 

“What’s that one?” she asks, pointing to the picture of a princess.

“It’s called  _ Tangled _ . It’s about a princess named,” he squints at the description. “Rapunzel?”

“What’s her name again?” Clare asks and repeats after Neil when he says it. “That’s a funny name.”

“It’s unusual, but remember it’s not nice to make fun of someone’s name.” Clare’s face falls and Neil is quick to reassure her. “I’m not mad at you, honey. It’s just that it may hurt someone’s feelings if you called their name funny, even if you don’t say it to be mean. I just wanted to let you know so it doesn’t happen in the future, that’s all.”

“Okay, I won’t do that. I promise,” she says very seriously and Neil lifts his arm offering her a hug. “Can you read me what it says?”

He reads the summary of the movie, getting more confused about magic hair and a thief?

“Have you never come across this fairytale, junkie?” Andrew asks flatly. He must’ve finished reading to Patrick. 

“No? But it sounds like you’ll like it Clare.” Andrew hums as she tells Neil that she wants to watch it later. Even Andrew had been told fairy tales in early childhood. Perhaps he’ll have to educate Neil. 

“I’m going to get started on dinner. Clare, would you like to come with me to the kitchen? I can teach you more German words.” It seems the German tradition would be carried on by the next generation. 

“Yes, please! What are you making?” She asks Andrew, following behind him. Patrick hops off the couch and makes his way to Neil on the floor. 

“Lap. Yes or no?” Neil nods and Patrick climbs onto him, clutching the book that Andrew had just read to him. “Again?” He asks and Neil begins reading with a smile.

Neil and Andrew will never again underestimate the perceptiveness of children. After a day or so of hearing Andrew and Neil ask yes or no questions before they would touch, both kids picked up on asking for consent seamlessly. Two days after they brought them home, Patrick had asked Andrew “Up, yes or no?” And Neil had never seen the blonde so surprised. They had talked it over that night and figured it would be a good practice to instill in the kids in case Andrew or Neil ever had a bad day. 

After the book is finished, the two meet the rest of their family in the kitchen. Clare is sitting on the kitchen island, petting Sir while Andrew chops carrots with King right between his legs. The cats always come running whenever someone is in the kitchen.  _ Fucking needy beggars _ , Andrew always calls them, but any feigned contempt is negated by the way he dotes on them. 

“ _ Eine katze _ ,” Andrew tells Clare, pointing at Sir. 

“ _ Eine katze _ ,” she repeats. 

“ _ Zwei katzen _ ,” he points at King and Sir. “Two cats. What would you say if we had one more?”

“Um,  _ d-drei katzen _ ?  _ Drei katzen. _ ”

“ _ Ja, du schlägst dich gut _ ,” Andrew smiles at her and Neil wants to bottle this moment forever. He’s glad that Andrew has a life that makes him smile so freely now. 

“ _ Katzen _ ,” Patrick says, pointing at the two furry members of the household, wanting in on the action.

“Good job, Patrick!  _ King und Sir sind katzen _ .” Neil lifts Patrick up and places him next to Clare before leaning over Andrew’s shoulder. “What’s cooking, good looking?”

Andrew gives him a playfully annoyed glare before shoving a carrot into Neil’s mouth instead of answering. He offers some to Patrick and Clare before they go into the pot.

“ _ Danke _ ,” Clare says, and Patrick looks at Andrew’s nod of approval before repeating after his sister. Andrew and Neil meet eyes with matching smiles. They’re teaching  _ their children _ German. After dinner, they watch  _ Tangled _ , through Patrick falls asleep part way through, and Neil much to his surprise, thoroughly enjoys the movie. Andrew catches him humming “When Will My Life Begin?” before bed and smirks.

“It’s catchy, okay?” Neil defends himself half-heartedly and Andrew pulls him close. 

“Whatever you say, junkie.”

“You know, Drew, I think you’re my Flynn Rider. Saving me from Father Wesninski so I can live a real life.”

“Does that make the Moriyamas Rapunzel’s parents in this metaphor? Did I save you only to return you to a life of servitude to the Japanese mafia?”

Neil makes a thoughtful noise. “Lord Moriyama, King Moriyama, not too far of a stretch, eh? But you’re missing the most important question. Is Kevin Pascal or Maximus?”

“I hate you,” Andrew says, turning away to shut off the lamp on his side. “Kevin is definitely Maximus and I hate you.”

“I love you, Eugene.”

“489%.” 

But it’s softened by Andrew tangling their fingers together. He falls asleep quickly but Neil stares at the ceiling a little while longer, reflecting on his deal with the Moriyamas. At first, it was a godsend, a way for Kevin, Jean, and him to escape from Riko’s cruelty, and in all honesty, 80% of their salaries in exchange for relative freedom is a pretty fair trade considering their history. On the other hand, Neil will never forget the frantic calls from Kevin at 3am, telling him that Thea was pregnant and wondering if Ichirou would transfer his debt onto his child, wondering if he was even fit to be a father. However, it was also the first time that Kevin contacted Ichirou himself, rather than going through Neil, so he figured Kevin would have no problem loving his child if he was willing to face one of his greatest fears for a partially developed fetus. Kevin is also the reason that Jean and Jeremy, and now Neil and Kevin, have children. It seems Ichirou recognized the danger of using children against their parents after his uncle’s experiment. And with that comforting thought, Neil drifted to sleep. 

Two days later, lunch is interrupted by a knock on the door. His mind immediately goes to the Moriyamas, especially after his thoughts a few nights ago. Shit, they have to go.  _ Andrew should take the kids out the back and I’ll _ –Andrew taps his finger in front of him to get his attention. 

“Abram, look at me. It’s likely Simona for the unannounced visit. Yes or no?” He asks, his hand hovering over Neil’s. He’s right. That’s right.  _ It’s just Simona. _ He closes his eyes and nods. “Words, Abram, I need words.”

“Yes,” he opens his eyes and sees two very worried kids. “I’m sorry, there is no need to be upset. I just get a little nervous by someone dropping by unexpectedly,” he tells them honestly. “But it’s probably Simona.” Andrew squeezes his hand before going to the front door. 

“She’s not gonna take us away?” Clare asks, making Patrick whimper.

“No, nothing like that. She just has to make sure that the two of you are happy and that the house is okay.” He holds his arms out to Patrick and the little boy doesn’t hesitate to clamber over him, nestling his head under Neil’s chin. Andrew comes in a moment later with Simone and Neil allows himself to fully relax. 

“Good afternoon, everyone,” she greets warmly. “Are you enjoying your lunch, Clare?”

She nods. “Andrew cooks good,” she says quietly and Simone beams at Andrew, who blushes just a tinge. 

“I bet, it sure smells good! And hello, Patrick, how are you today?” 

“Good,” he answers from his perch on Neil’s lap before burying his face further into Neil’s neck.

“Lovely. So I need to have a quick tour of the home and then I’ll need to speak to you, Clare and Patrick, and then you, Neil and Andrew. Any questions?”

“No, that sounds great,” Andrew replies. “Clare, Patrick, do you want to show Simona your rooms?”

“Yes,” Clare says. “I have a big girl bed and my walls are white now but Neil and Andrew said that I can pick any color I want soon,” she elaborates, leading Simona towards the stairs with Andrew, Neil, and Patrick following behind. They had given her the guest bedroom, which meant she had a full-size bed. She looked comically small the first night she spent in there, but at least it’ll last her for many years. 

“Wow, that’s exciting! What color will you pick?” Simona asks.

“I think I want two colors. Yellow and orange. Because yellow is my favorite color and orange is Neil’s. And those are the colors of the sun. Drew’s favorite color is blue and that’s also Patrick’s favorite color so his walls will be blue. Right, Pat?”

“Blue is my favorite and Drew’s,” he confirms for her. 

Neil tries to reign in his emotions but  _ his daughter wants to paint her room his favorite color. _ That...well that just gets him right in the heart. Andrew thinks it’s wonderful too and he will definitely paint Clare’s walls exactly how she wants them, but the small part of him that understands interior decoration is screaming at the prospect of yellow and orange walls. The dad part of him that wants Clare happy overpowers it quickly though. 

Simona gets a full tour of Clare’s room first, pink doll castle and all, before Patrick shows her his room with its overflowing bookshelves and the dinosaur printed sheets on his bed. When they get back downstairs, she asks to have the living room with just the kids, so Andrew and Neil head into the kitchen. 

“Are you okay after earlier?” Andrew asks him quietly once they take a seat at the table.

“Yeah, I’m sorry. I just can’t help but think every unexpected knock at the door is going to be Ichirou changing his mind and demanding my life. And the thought of you and the kids getting stuck in the crosshairs somehow…”

“Neil,” Andrew sighs, flipping his hand up in an invitation that Neil takes. “You, Kevin, and Jean make Ichirou millions of dollars and all he has to do in return is not murder you all. I don’t think he’ll come knocking anytime soon. And if he does, well, the yakuza will be looking for a new head of the family,” he shrugs nonchalantly, like it would be an easy task to murder Lord Moriyama, and Neil has to laugh.

“I love you, Andrew, and I can’t believe we have this life together with two human kids and two cat kids. Who knew we would be parents of four?”

“Shut up, junkie. Yes or no?” He asks, moving his chair closer to Neil.

“Yes.” And their lips meet and all is right in the world again.

“What do you think the kids are telling her?” Neil asks, resting his head on Andrew’s shoulder.

“That you’re a closet Disney fan who forces them to eat vegetables at lunch and dinner.”

“And who cooks those vegetables for us, Andrew?”

“If you’re going to force us to eat them, I may as well make them edible.” Andrew cards his fingers through Neil’s hair, inhaling the minty scent of his shampoo. They rest like that for a few more minutes before Clare pokes her head through the door.

“It’s your turn to talk to Simona. Don’t mess up.” She turns around towards the living room.

“That’s a little bit ominous,” Neil remarks.

“Well, I guess we can’t mess up,” Andrew shrugs at him.

Their talk with Simona goes very well. She raves about how happy Patrick and Clare are, and not that Andrew and Neil thought the kids were unhappy, but it’s still a bit of a shock to hear. A little over a week ago, they sat in a parking lot, scared they may not be ready for one child. The fact they’ve managed to make both Patrick and Clare happy, after the trauma they’ve already experienced in their short lives certainly makes them feel better.

They tell Simona about their plans to tour kindergartens for Clare in the next few weeks,  _ how is their daughter already going off to school?? _ , and about the childcare system in place once their season begins. Since exy is a co-ed sport that became popular relatively recently, there was an effort made to work with family life–at least certainly more than any other sport. Morning practices run from 8:30am-12:30pm and afternoon practices from 4:00pm-6:30 pm. This allows most players to drop kids off in the morning and pick them up in the afternoon, while also leaving time for a later family dinner. Of course game nights ran late, as most began at 7pm, but the league could only do so much and there have been very little complaints from players. Most teams, including theirs, also had a daycare built into the stadium for the children who weren’t quite school age during the morning, and then for the rest to hang out after school and get their homework done while their parents had evening practice. Of course, a decent number of players still hired nannies or had family in the area. 

Game nights offered a bit more of a challenge, but Neil and Andrew have a tentative plan. Due to them staying local after their graduations from Palmetto, they’ve kept in relatively close contact with Bee, Wymack, and Abby–not that distance would’ve stopped that anyway judging by how much all of the original foxes on the championship team kept in contact. Bee was a large part of Neil and Andrew getting to a place where they felt comfortable fostering children–well mostly Andrew, but Neil by proxy( _ guess who still hasn’t gotten over his mistrust of therapists _ ). After Andrew graduated college, Bee decided to leave her job at Palmetto and begin a private practice where she could take on less clients and devote more of her time to them. Therefore, Andrew has continued to see her for over a decade now, though they certainly meet less frequently than during his college years. In fact, they see each just as often at Abby’s for holidays and summer barbecues when everyone is in town than in a client-therapist setting. 

So far Bee is the only one who knows about Patrick. Not because Andrew and Neil don’t trust the others but because they wanted to give him a chance to settle in before introducing their well-meaning but quite frankly intrusive family members. Andrew knows he’ll have to tell her about Clare too but he’s come far enough to be able to admit to himself that he’s nervous. Bee knows more than anyone about his history with women and he’s terrified of Bee telling him that he’s made a mistake taking in a little girl. He’ll have to get over it soon though because Bee, Abby, and Wymack are their plan for game nights until they can bring themselves to trust someone else with the kids. The fact that those three will react the calmest to the kids is a nice bonus. 

Once it’s confirmed that Neil and Andrew want to go forward with the official adoption for both children, they walk Simona to the door. 

“Oh, I almost forgot! Maeve’s guardians have allowed me to pass on their contact information,” she says, handing Andrew a slip of paper. “Please feel free to set something up. I’m sure they miss each other. I wish…”  _ that she could’ve been taken in by you as well _ goes unsaid but Neil and Andrew understand the sentiment. 

“Thank you,” Neil says, “We’ll give them a call this evening.”

“Wonderful! Again, everything looks perfect and now I can get the ball rolling for the official adoption process for both of them. Until next time,” Simona shakes both of their hands. “And please don’t hesitate to call with any questions.”

“Let me walk you out,” Andrew says and Neil raises an eyebrow.  _ Later _ , he mouths at him and Neil nods, turning back to the kids. 

“Is everything all right?” Simona asks as soon as the door closes.

“Yes, I just have some concerns about Clare’s previous home.”

“Ah yes,” Simona sighs, biting her lip. “I know the Sumersons aren’t the most loving, but they keep kids healthy and safe.”

“Clare told me she had to do everyone’s laundry while the other kids kept the house clean, and that the kitchen was locked.”

“I agree, they’re not the most nurturing of parents, but the kids are not starved or beaten or worse. They’re not the ideal, but I think you know they’re better than some that go unnoticed by us, Andrew.” He clenches his jaw, knowing that she’s right, but it does nothing to abate his anger. “I understand, Andrew, I really do and I check in with them yearly. I just–we need as many guardians as we can get, frankly, and if people are willing to take children in and they treat them fairly...we can’t turn that down. Taking them off the list might mean more children in dangerous homes that we don’t know about. They’re strict, but not cruel.”

“I understand. I just don’t like it,” he finally gets out when they reach her car and she gives him a sad smile.

“You don’t have to tell me. If I could take in all of the kids I get assigned, I would. I want to do the best for my kids, but sometimes all parties have to settle. It took me over a year before I could stop crying myself to sleep every night and I still have rough nights after some particularly bad cases. Life isn’t fair for anyone, but especially not on kids in foster care.”

Andrew takes a breath. She’s right. It’s not her he’s angry with, but life. “You’re right, I’m sorry. You have such an important job, Simona, and I wish people in your position would be more recognized. I just...hearing about Clare and then knowing the hell I went through in the system...even years later I suppose I’m still coming to terms with the injustice of it all.”

“Of course. I am sorry about your experience and I hope you can rest a tad bit easier at night knowing that I’m doing my best from preventing children from suffering through homes like yours.” 

Andrew doesn’t answer, but Simona understands that they’ve reached the end of their conversation. She gives him a nod and a small smile before driving off. Andrew feels a bit too raw to face his husband and kids, so he sits on the stoop, flicking his lighter. He had given up smoking years ago–perhaps Kevin’s lecturing about his health made some sort of impact after all–but he always had a lighter on him. The motion still soothed him. 

He’s spent so many years forcing himself not to care about well... _ anything _ to various degrees of success. God knows Aaron, Nicky, and Kevin managed to make it past his walls, let alone Neil. But he couldn’t let himself  _ want _ , to have  _ hope _ for the future for so long. And now that he has, it seems that he’s been caring about everything lately.  _ The thought of all those children in homes like the ones he was subject to _ . He sighs. Perhaps it would be wise to speak to Bee sooner rather than later for a variety of reasons. 

“Drew?” The door opens behind him and he grunts at Neil in response. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.” He can’t, not yet.

“Alright. I’m here whenever you’re ready. Patrick wants to know if you’ll read him a book before naptime. But I’m sure that I’ll be an acceptable replacement if you need some more time to yourself.”

“No, no,” Andrew gets up quickly. “I...He’ll help more than anything right now.”

“Good,” Neil says with soft eyes. “Yes or no?”

“Yes.”

And they lean in for a quick kiss. Andrew rests his forehead on Neil’s shoulder for a moment, reminding himself of how far he’s come, before heading off to his son. He may not be able to save every child, but he has two he’ll go to the ends of the earth for, and they’re far more than he ever could have dreamed of. 


	4. Reunions and Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a little late! I'm moving half-way across the country tomorrow and seemed to realize this morning just how much I have left to pack! Anyway, enjoy this chapter! You finally get to meet Maeve (though not that much tbh) but the end gets very emotional! Also this story will have mentions of child abuse but definitely nothing graphic and I'll give chapter warnings as necessary. Thanks for all the comments and kudos on the previous chapters and I'll be here again next Friday :)

“Can you push me on the swings, Neil?”

“Of course, honey.”

“Really, really high? Until I’m next to the moon.” 

“Hmm, I think if I try my best we can get you there.”

Patrick giggles. Neil squeezes Andrew’s hand.  _ Is there any sound in this world better than your child’s laughter? _ However, Patrick’s joy couldn’t quite quell all the nerves in Neil’s stomach. Not that he thinks anything will go wrong but...he’s more worried for the aftermath than the actual meeting. Neil and Andrew had gotten in touch with Maeve’s foster mother a few days ago and she was finally able to find time in her schedule to have the three siblings reunite. They hadn’t told Clare and Patrick yet, just in case it fell through at the last minute, and perhaps a surprise would be able to prevent any possible anxiety on their end. 

“Are you doing okay back there, Clare?” Andrew has been watching her in the rearview mirror, kicking her legs to a couple songs on the radio but she has been otherwise pretty subdued during the car ride. She’s usually excited to play on the monkey bars– _ maybe they should think about signing her up for gymnastics _ , now that he’s thinking about it.

“Yeah. My eyes are just heavy today,” she says a bit sadly. Neil and Andrew exchange glances quickly. 

“Did you not sleep well last night, honey?” Neil asks, twisting around to look at her. She shrugs at him and then turns so her hair is covering some of her face.

“I had a bad dream and then I wasn’t tired anymore.” 

“I’m sorry, Clare. Come get me or Andrew next time, okay? I don’t want you up all alone at night.” She looks at him with furrowed brows, weary like he hasn’t seen her in a while, and then she turns to look out the window. He glances at Patrick to see the little boy look grave as well. 

“You have to stay in your room at night or you’ll get hurt. What momma said,'' he tells Neil, and it’s a shock to see the giggling boy from a moment ago look so forlorn. But Neil understands well how deep trauma can cut, even at such a young age. Clare stiffens up and fists her shirt, but still looks out the window.

He feels the car slow down and looks at Andrew, who is pulling over with a blank face but stormy eyes. He looks at Neil once the car stops and nods. 

“Patrick, Clare, can you look at us for a second?” Both look at Neil, a little fearful. “I’m sure at your old house there were some rules you had to follow to keep yourself safe, but I promise that you don’t have to worry about ever being hurt when you’re with me or Andrew. If you need to use the bathroom, or you get thirsty, you can move around the house. And if you ever need anything from us at night, just knock on our door.”

“Neil and I never want you to be scared of being in the house at any time, or of us. If something is bothering you, no matter how small, no matter what time it is, we’ll do all we can to make you safe and comfortable. And Clare,” Andrew waits until she looks at him. “I have had plenty of nightmares, and still sometimes do. Hot chocolate always helps me, and I would be happy to make some for you.”

“Okay,” she says quietly. Andrew and Neil share a meaningful look, a promise of a discussion to come later, and then they’re off to the park once again. Neil hopes that the kids will perk up once they see their sister, and Andrew’s trying hard not to feel like he’s already failed Clare.  _ What could they have done to make her feel safer? _

Neil sighs as Andrew navigates them into a parking spot. They’re a bit ealy, which is all the better because maybe some playing before Maeve comes will make the whole thing less jarring. Neil opens the door for Clare while Andrew deals with unbuckling Patrick from the car seat that would probably protect him in an eight-car pile up–Neil can never figure out how to get him out of the monstrosity in a timely manner. Neil takes Patrick to the swings while Andrew claims a bench with a good view of the monkey bars. About five minutes before Maeve is set to arrive Andrew signals Neil, Patrick, and Clare over. 

“Clare, Patrick, Neil and I have something to tell you. We’re at the park for a very special reason today. We spoke to Maeve’s foster mother and she should be here with your sister in a few minutes. Does that sound good?”

Both kids look at him shocked, but Patrick recovers first.

“Yes, yes, yes! Maeve is coming! Hug, yes or no?” He runs to Neil, who picks him up with a laugh. 

“For real?” Maeve asks Andrew quietly, with big, hopeful eyes.

“Yes, would you like to wait for her by the entrance? You’ll have to point her out to Neil and I,” Andrew answers her with a soft smile, offering his hand at her enthusiastic nod. Neil and Patrick follow behind them, the latter babbling about all of Maeve’s favorite things. When a little girl with dark hair and spring green eyes comes running at them, Andrew laughs to himself. There’s no way he wouldn’t recognize the eldest Flynn on sight–she looks exactly like Clare and Patrick.

“Maeve!” Clare practically screams, letting go of Andrew’s hand to run at her sister. The two meet in the middle with a fierce embrace. Neil puts Patrick down next so he can join in on the reunion, and his two sisters engulf him into their hug. The whole sight tugs at Neil and Andrew’s heart strings, and they link their fingers when Maeve’s foster mom reaches them.

“Hi, I’m Judy, it’s so nice to meet you! I think I spoke with Neil on the phone?”

“That’s me,” he holds his hand out to shake. He watches her scan the scarring on his face and hands quickly, but the smile she offers when she takes his hand seems genuine and she makes no comment on his appearance, so she seems to be a decent human being. “And this is my husband, Andrew.”

Normally he would simply nod, but he decides to take the outstretched hand on account that they’ll hopefully be seeing a lot of each other and he won’t risk messing up the relationship between Maeve, Patrick, and Clare. 

All three adults turn their attention back to the reuniting kids. Maeve runs her hands up and down Clare’s arms, and then does the same for Partick, seemingly scanning any exposed skin.  _ Looking for bruises? Signs of abuse? _ Andrew thinks, and he wonders if this is a natural older sister concern, or if there’s something more to it. They seem to pass her first inspection because she takes their hands and brings them over to where the adults are standing.

“Oh my goodness! You must be Clare and Patrick! I have heard so many wonderful things about you both. I’m Judy, Maeve’s foster mom.”

“Nice to meet you,” Clare says shyly while Patrick simply waves, pressing his face into Maeve’s side. 

“Hi, Maeve, it’s very nice to meet you,” Neil says crouching down. He offers her a hand like he did for Judy. “My name is Neil and I’m one of Clare and Patrick’s foster dads.” She takes his hand very slowly, taking in his scars with occasional glances towards Andrew. Neil has honestly been surprised that Clare and Patrick haven’t asked him about them yet, but perhaps Maeve has had more experience with differentiating what is normal and not. 

“Hi,” she says curious, weary, and polite all at once.

“Hello, Maeve, I’m Andrew. Their other foster father.” She eyes Andrew’s arm bands as she takes his hand but doesn’t comment.

“Can we go play now?” She asks.

“Of course,” Andrew answers as the other two nod. “I’m sure you guys want to spend as much time as you can together.”

Maeve pulls Clare and Patrick with her towards the playground without responding, and they watch with Judy as the three settle in a circle at the top of the jungle gym. It’s only right they get time to catch up.

“Oh, I’m so glad this worked out. I know Maeve has been missing Clare and Patrick something fierce these past weeks. She’s been a bit more withdrawn the past couple days I’ve been home.” Neil must make some sort of questioning smile, because Judy clarifies. “I’m an international flight attendant so I’m gone a couple days a week. My husband, Mike, is an account so he can work from home those days to be with Maeve.”

“Wow, what airline do you work for?” Neil asks, thankfully taking over the small talk. Small alarm bells start to go off for Andrew when he hears that Maeve is alone with a man for several days, but he quickly represses it.  _ Not every foster father is like the ones he had. And it’s not like the presence of their wives ever mattered much anyway.  _

“Virgin Atlantic. I usually run the service to Amsterdam, but we also fill in for each other every so often, so I’ve gotten a taste of a lot of European cities. What do you and Andrew do? Oh,” she says blushing. “I’m not trying to interrogate you at all, so no need to answer if you’re feeling intruded on.”

“Not at all!” Neil assures her. “Andrew and I play exy for the Columbus Dragons. I’m a striker and he’s a goalie–I’m not sure how familiar you are with the sport.”

“Wow, you play professionally?” 

Neil nods. 

“I haven’t watched much to be honest, but my brother in law played for Penn in college, and I know his team was pretty good.”

“Yes!” Neil brightens a bit as Andrew internally rolls his eyes. _ Junkie. _ “They’re a big three team! He didn’t end up playing professionally?”

“No, he was also pre-law and was more passionate about making a difference in the legal system. My sister has always said he was an incredible athlete and that he could have had a nice exy career.”

“I believe it, Penn doesn’t accept just anyone.”

The conversation drifts into more small talk after that, with Neil doing most of the talking while Andrew throws in a polite smile or one-word answer here or there. He keeps a close eye on the kids, watching as they talk to each other with occasional hugs. Patrick places himself in Maeve’s lap after a few minutes and he watches her give him a tight squeeze.  _ God, keeping siblings apart is so cruel.  _ And he’s in an exact position to know. 

After about an hour, Judy checks her phone and looks up at the kids apologetically. 

“Shoot, Maeve and I have to get going. She actually has a dentist appointment today.”

_ Oh shit. Maybe they should make dentist appointments for Clare and Patrick. They should see the doctor too, right? And the eye doctor? _ They should probably confirm with Simona. 

“No worries, but we should definitely do this again since we’re in the same area. I don’t want them growing up without each other if we can help it,” Neil says.

“Of course! I know that Maeve will be talking nonstop about Patrick and Clare. Maybe we can try to meet up a couple times a month? I’m sure we can work something out despite our busy schedules.”

“That sounds great,” Andrew responds, happy that Judy seems willing to allow the kids to maintain a relationship. “We have each other’s numbers so we can stay in touch.”

“And let us know if you ever want to come to a game,” Neil offers and Judy gives him a bright smile.

“Oh that would be wonderful! Maybe all the kids can watch you together!”Andrew can admit that he finds that idea appealing. “Maeve!” Judy calls up. “We have your dentist appointment, sweetie.”

Maeve stands up and looks down to them, so crestfallen that Neil has the urge to take her in his arms–a new feeling that seems to have come with fatherhood. He sees Patrick grab onto one of her legs and knows that the next few minutes aren’t going to be pretty.

“Right now?” She confirms with a sad pout.

“I’m afraid so, sweetie! But don’t worry, Andrew, Neil, and I will keep in touch so we can all get together again.”

The three children morosely make their way down the slide until they’re standing in front of their guardians. As Judy bends down to say goodbye to Clare and Patrick, Maeve drifts over to Neil and Andrew.

“Thank you for taking good care of Clare and Patrick. They both like you a lot,” she says very matter of factly and Neil suppresses a grin.

“Of course. We’re so happy to have both of them in our home and we’ll always do as much as we can to keep them safe and happy,” Neil reassures her. Maeve scans each of their faces, looking for any hint of a lie, so Andrew crouches down to look her in the eye. 

“We promise to keep them safe and unharmed, Maeve.” She looks at him with furrowed brows before nodding. 

“We just wish that you guys could all be together,” Neil adds.

“As long as you keep Clare and Patrick safe that’s all that matters. I’ll be fine as long as they are.”

Andrew opens his mouth, to do what exactly he doesn’t know, but she turns around and goes to Judy’s side. He knows exactly what it’s like to put the needs of your family–your siblings specifically–above your own, and he doesn’t want Maeve to feel as lost and lonely as he did before Neil.  _ But who is he to tell her that? _ God knows it took over a decade of therapy to get him to this point and he still has his bad days.

“Why don’t we walk Maeve and Judy to the parking lot?” Neil asks when the kids clutch onto each other again without showing any sign of moving. They slowly make their way towards the car, Clare and Patrick each holding onto one of Maeve’s hands. Maeve hugs each one of them tightly before they have another group hug. Patrick runs to Andrew as soon as his sister closes the car door behind her, requesting to be picked up. Andrew cuddles the boy close, his heart breaking at the little tears in his eyes. 

“I don’t want Maeve to leave,” he whimpers.

“I know, I know,  _ liebling _ . But you’ll see her again, I promise. We talked to Judy and we’ve worked it out so you can see Maeve more often, alright?” Andrew rubs his palm over his back while Neil looks on sympathetically from where he’s standing with Clare. 

“But why can’t she live with us?”

“Well, just like me and Neil want to have a family with you and Clare, Judy and her husband want to have a family with Maeve. I wish you guys could be together always, but she’s making another family happy just like you make me and Neil happy.”

He doesn’t answer but pushes his face into Andrew’s neck, and Andrew gently strokes his hair while he watches Clare put on a brave face and wave to Maeve as Judy drives her away. However, the minute the car drives away, she practically flings herself at Neil, asking if she could have a hug between sobs. 

This is what Neil was most afraid of, but he also knows that no one regretted this meeting. Of course Clare and Patrick are going to be sad to let Maeve go again, but they’ll see her again and hopefully it will become easier again one day. But for now, he walks to the nearest bench, settles Clare on his lap, and lets her cry it out. Andrew signals him that he’s taking Patrick to the car, and Neil nods but decides that staying in the fresh air might be a better idea.

“Do you want to talk about it, honey? Or we could go home. Or go somewhere else. Just let me know what I can do to make you feel better,” he tells her gently after her cries have calmed down.

“I just want Maeve to come home with us,” she hiccups to Neil, and he sighs, kissing the top of her head.

“Of course you do, love, and I’m sorry that I can’t make that happen right now, but I promise that you’ll see her again.”

“But what if she gets hurt? Or dies like mama?” She whispers to Neil and he momentarily loses his words. He knows all about dying mothers and family members hurting, so how can he reassure her it won’t happen if there’s every chance that it will. He knows all about the cruelty of the people in this world, but he doesn’t want his five year-old to–he wants to give her the childhood and love that he never had. 

“Oh Clare, well Maeve is young and healthy, and she’s living with Judy who seems really nice. She’ll be fine, and I’ll message Judy when we get home to set up another meeting, alright?”

“Tomorrow?” She asks hopefully.

“I’m not sure I can make that happen, but I’ll ask about next week.”

“Okay,” she sighs, resting against Neil. 

“Do you want to go walk around somewhere, or go get ice cream?” Neil asks, trying to make her a least a little more happy. 

“Can we go home and watch a movie? With popcorn?” 

“Of course, why don’t we go meet Patrick and Andrew at the car then? Maybe we can stop for some special treats on the way home.”

When they get to the car Andrew is sitting with the door open and Patrick dozing on his lap. He raises an eyebrow at Neil, making sure everything is okay for the moment at least, and moves Patrick into his car seat when he gets a nod from his husband. After he gets the little one situated, he holds open his arms to Clare, who fully wraps herself around him.

Neil tries not to get emotional at how far Andrew has come. The Andrew he met his first year at Palmetto would have never initiated a hug for any reason–let alone one to offer emotional support and comfort. The fact that he’s already attuned to Clare after mere weeks, that he can open his heart more freely now...well, Neil is grateful to witness the progress the love of his life has made–not that he could ever say that to Andrew without getting a percentage in return.

They stop for ice cream on the way home and then watch two movies before dinner, but both kids are noticeably down through bed time. Patrick is especially clingy, opting to lay on Neil for his bedtime stories rather than in his bed like usual. By the time he is asleep and Neil has gently untangled himself, Andrew is already tucking Clare in. He pokes his head in to wish her goodnight before heading downstairs and flipping through channels until he lands on some preseason exy discourse. Andrews tsks at him when he comes down, but settles next to him on the couch anyway. Neil mutes the TV after a few minutes.

“How are you after today? I’m sure some memories were brought up.”

“Yes,” Andrew says slowly. “But honestly, I was more focused on the kids then myself. Not that I’m grateful for my childhood in any way, but I understand what they’re going through and I hope that I will be able to help them through it. It’s the same way you felt when we first read Patrick’s file.”

Neil nods, remembering how he swore to help the boy through his mother’s murder and the jailing of his father. At least there were no Lolas or Romeros hanging around the Flynns–not that Neil couldn’t have dealt with that. 

“Yes, it seems we’re decently equipped for this whole parent thing, huh?”

Andrew kisses him instead of answering and any thoughts of exy or further conversation disappear before long. 

Neil heads upstairs before Andrew, knowing he’ll want to get up early for a run, while his husband stays downstairs to read. 

“Drew?” he hears a little hesitant voice ask him a half hour later and he sees Clare peeping out from the hallway.

“Hi, Clare, you can come here. Is everything okay? Did you have a nightmare?”

She shakes her head and climbs onto the couch beside him, ducking under his offered arm. 

“I can’t sleep,” she tells him. “I tried and tried.” 

“I know how that feels, darling. Sometimes I can’t sleep when I’m really worried. Do you think that could be it for you?”

She bites her lip before nodding.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

She looks at him with tears in her pretty green eyes and then shakes her head. 

“I can’t because I promised I would keep it a secret,” Clare whispers with trembling lips and Andrew gets a sinking feeling in his gut.

“It is very important to keep a secret if you’ve promised to, you’re right about that, Clare. But sometimes if telling the secret will stop you or someone else from being hurt, then it’s really important that you tell someone who you can trust to help. Do you think telling me the secret will make you or someone else safer?”

She slowly nods and then stretches up to whisper into his ear. And for the first time in a long time, Andrew begins to itch for his knives. 


End file.
